Lustrum is the second duo album to be released on Neuklang by the Russian Arkady Shilkloper (Horn) and the Ukranian Vadim Neselovskyi (Piano). The two have known each other since the then 19-year-old music student, Vadim, performed live for the first time with Arkady and the Moscow Art Trio in the ‘Domizil’ jazz club in Dortmund. It wasn’t until much later that the idea of forming a duo was born, which developed into a congenial cooperation between two outstanding musicians.

I found in Vadim an empathetic partner who is not only a good pianist but also a wonderful composer says Arkady Shilkloper. Vadim Neselovskyi adds: It’s a great feeling to perform with a musician whose recordings I listened to in my youth. Our duo makes it possible for me to develop further and to realise my musical visions. Arkady and I speak the same language.

The collaboration is highly inspiring for both and a fascinating process. According to Vadim, the natural limits of the French Horn and the Alphorn are sometimes hard for pianists to understand. But Arkady is such a virtuoso that anything is possible. It’s always most enjoyable to work on new material, to try out new registers on the Horn, to swap roles and to achieve something which at the outset appeared completely unachievable.

When playing together the musicians operate in different ways. Sometimes - such as with Almost December or Song for Vera - we change nothing at all and play the original, explains Arkady. Vadim continues: Then there are pieces like Intrada, which allow a great deal of freedom and which sound entirely different at each concert. In principle, each piece provides scope for adventures in sound, which are born out of the process of improvisation. I refer to our method as ‘Comprovisation’ - the combination of composition and improvisation. We try to break down the barriers between the two. says Arkady in summary.

Most composers have a personal story which forms a basis for their work. The idea for Get Up And Go came to Vadim from news broadcasts about world-wide wars and conflicts. He imagined a wounded soldier lying on the ground who, despite his pain and weakness, pulls himself together and battles for survival with all his remaining strength. On the other hand, Songs My Parents Sing is based on pleasant memories of his parents, who often sang Russian and Ukrainian songs together in their kitchen. The underlying theme comes from a song about an old coachman, which can be heard in its original form in the introduction and which then takes the listener along on a bumpy ride.

Almost December came to Vadim during a late-November stroll through the streets of Dortmund. In the late autumn, the spirit of Christmas was already in the air and one could sense the approaching year-end in the empty and quiet streets. The story behind Station Taiga is enchanting. At the end of my solo concerts I always ask the audience to call out random numbers between 1 and 8. I then create a melody using the numbers provided and improvise a short piece. I was once presented with the combination 8-7-2-4-3, which produced a most attractive Slavonic theme. I developed the improvisation further at home and it transformed into this dreamy, meditative composition, which also reflects my experiences of travelling through Siberia’s breathtakingly beautiful snowy forest.

Lustrum is a Latin term describing a period of 5 years in ancient Rome. Arkady Shilkloper and Vadim Neselovskyi have been playing together since 2011 and celebrated their 5-year anniversary in the year this recording was made. Hence the title of the album Lustrum, which also contains the words for Light and Delight - because the collaboration between the two musicians is characterised by their joie de vivre and the obvious delight they take in playing together. ---in-akustik.de